Daigo Kazama
Daigo Kazama (風間 醍醐 Kazama Daigo) is a fighting game character from the Rival Schools series. Biography Daigo, the "Boss of Gedo High" The older brother of Akira Kazama who is a student of Gedo High, and the leader of the school's gang. He first appears in the arcade version of Rival Schools: United By Fate in his sister Akira's ending, and is first playable in the PlayStation port of the game. Daigo may seem strict and harsh, but he is tender at heart. He is the undisputed leader of all the gangs in Gedo High who possesses a magnetic charisma who has a strong sense of duty. Most of the time, his thoughts are with his younger sister, Akira. He is a man of honor who never fights dirty. Appearance Like Batsu, Daigo has short-spiked black hair (dark brown in the opening, ending and some CGI artworks) with upper spike fringe on his head and black eyes with a scar on his right eye (in-game, he had purple highlights at the edge of his hair in the first game). His primary outfit is a black long school jacket under a white short sleeve shirt, black school pants and black shoes. The interior of his school jacket is purple (blue green in some artworks and in-game). As Wild Daigo in Project Justice, his black long school jacket is openly shows his chest with a white bandage to his stomach and bandages on both of his hands. His eyes however becomes red due to brainwashing from Kurow or Yurika. Story 'Rival Schools: United By Fate' In Rival Schools: United By Fate, Daigo has no set story in single player mode, although it is explained he set out alone to find the person responsible for the school kidnappings. His ending in the game reveals that he was defeated and brainwashed by Hyo Imawano. He was later rescued by Akira, Edge and Gan, after Akira reveals her true gender to both Edge and Gan, they happily accepts her as their friend as Daigo happily watches them. 'Project Justice' In Project Justice, Daigo is the central character in the Gedo High story and like Batsu, Daigo has two different fates after being defeated by Akira, Edge and Gan. Either he succumbs to his injuries from fighting which Akira sadly cries in his arms causing both Edge and Gan to fight Kurow in honor of him or (in his brainwashed state) manage to beat Akira once in a fight before being defeated and freed from Kurow's brainwashing. After returning from a trip that takes place between Rival Schools and Project Justice, Daigo begins ordering his gang to attack random schools, much to the reluctance of Edge and Gan. Edge later discovers that Daigo was ordered around by Momo Karuizawa which she tells him to get rid of the students in Gorin High where she was currently attended as Daigo silently accepts. As Daigo silently leaves to fight off students in Gorin High, Edge begins to suspect their boss' actions. By the time Gedo High and Seijyun High begin to have a school gang war, Edge and Gan realizes that Daigo is not the person they truly knew and figures that something had happened to him in during the training trip. Akira and Zaki are confronted by Daigo himself when they discover that he was brainwashed by Kurow. Edge and Gan quickly rush to Akira's aid as she tries to snap her older brother from the brainwash, to no avail, she is forced to fight him. Zaki discovers whistle noises and realize that Yurika is playing Kurow's flute in hiding. After being defeated, Daigo was freed from his brainwashed state and reunites with his younger sister. He apologizes to everyone in local schools including Seijyun High School for his actions. Edge and Gan noticed that Justice High School was behind everything as Daigo tells them that the only answer to find out the truth was in within Justice High. When Kurow removes his disguises and reveals himself, he attempts to brainwash Daigo once again by playing with his flute only to be repelled by Zaki who uses her chains to get his flute, Daigo returns to normal and angrily wants to teach Kurow a severe lesson for what he did to him from the very beginning. After defeating Kurow and Hyo which leads to his own death, Daigo finally decides to reflect on himself after what he had done previously while being brainwashed. Akira becomes worried of his older brother again as Daigo tells her that he no longer needs her support and his subordinates are already grown. He gives both Edge and Gan his undisputed gang leadership and his school jacket to his sister and leaves to train once more. Gameplay Arsenal, combat style and fighting strategy 'Special Moves' All special moves listed here are used by both versions of Daigo. *'Unique Thrust' (Japanese: 無双突き Musou Zuki) - Daigo does a straight punch that may either knock the opponent backwards, or can be chained for up to five hits, depending on the punch button pressed for this move's button combination. In Project Justice, this ability is chained up to three hits. *'Unique Reverse Fist' (Japanese: 無双裏拳 Musou Riken) - Daigo does a back-fist strike. Recommended as an anti-air attack. *'Energy Focus Cluster' (Japanese: 気功塊 Kikou Kai) - Although this move has the very same Kanji writing as Akira's, this can only be used in the air, where Daigo unleashes a powerful, beamlike energy blast. Depending on the punch button pressed for this move's button combination, the attack may either be directed 45 degrees downward, or straight ahead. The former is best used against opponents on the ground; the latter is an excellent Air Combo finisher. Normal Daigo's version of this move hits once; Wild Daigo's three times. *'Unique Kick' (Japanese: 無双蹴り Musou Geri) - Daigo does a spin-kick. Depending on the kick button pressed for this move's button combination, Daigo may end the attack after the second spin-kick, or may add a powerful forward kick that knocks the opponent into a random obstacle in the field, scoring a bonus hit. Using both versions alternatively is a very good way to confuse the opponent, making the latter's chances of connecting a combo after a Tardy Counter very slim. *'Earth Stab' (Japanese: 大地突き Daichi Zuki) - Daigo punches the ground, generating a quake that knocks the opponent down, even from a distance. 'Burning Vigor Attacks' 'As Normal Daigo' *'True Unique Superior Fist Thrust' (Japanese: 真・無双正拳突き Shin Musou Seiken Zuki) - Daigo starts with a straight punch, stunning the opponent. He then follows with a series of punches and kicks, and finishes the move with a powerful straight punch with knockback effect. This move's startup is fast, but if blocked, the opponent can deliver a swift counterattack. *'True Massive Back' (Japanese: 真・漢の背中 Shin Kan no Senaka) - Daigo turns his back on his opponent, and is then surrounded by a fiery vortex ascending from the ground. More hits can be scored by repeatedly tapping the kick button. Startup is slow, and is best reserved as an anti-air attack against jump-in opponents. *'Hard Energy Focus Cluster' (Japanese: 硬気功塊 Kou Kikou Kai) - A more powerful version of Daigo's Energy Focus Cluster. Like the Energy Focus Cluster, this may be fired either straight ahead or 45 degrees downwards, depending on the punch button pressed for this move's button combination. 'As Wild Daigo' *'Wild Unique Superior Fist Thrust' (Japanese: 暴走・無双正拳突き Bousou Musou Seiken Zuki) - A little different from the True Incomparable Superior Fist Thrust. Has a faster recovery delay than the Phoenix Fury, though. *'Wild Massive Back' (Japanese: 暴走・漢の背中 Bousou Kan no Senaka) - Daigo unleashes a very powerful burst of energy exploding from the ground. He has super armor throughout this move. The major downside of this move is its horrible startup time and recovery delay when blocked. *'Wild Hard Energy Focus Cluster' (Japanese: 暴走・硬気功塊 Bousou Kou Kikou Kai) - Compared to the Hard Energy Focus Cluster, this move hits only once, but more powerful. Similar to Powered Akira's Energy Focus Cluster. Like the Energy Focus Cluster and Hard Energy Focus Cluster, this may be fired either straight ahead or 45 degrees downwards, depending on the punch button pressed for this move's button combination. 'Team-Up Techniques' *'Size Within Size' (Japanese: 漢の中の漢 Kan no Naka no Kan) - Team-Up assist by the normal Daigo. The active character punches the opponent away from him/herself, and Daigo stands in the space between them. The opponent vainly makes a punching bag out of Daigo, who then Tardy Counters the last blow, and retaliates with a massive uppercut. He then leaves the field, with the active character bowing to him. If blocked, however, this has poor recovery time. *'Man in the Middle of Insanity' (Japanese: 男の中の狂気 Otoko no Naka no Kyouki) - Team-Up assist by Wild Daigo. The active character punches the opponent into an awaiting Wild Daigo, who then pummels the opponent a few times, throws the opponent to the active character, and delivers a massive uppercut before 'staggering' away from the field. The final blow inflicts damage on the active character as well, and is not recommended if the player's character is low on health. 'Party-Up Technique' *Both versions of Daigo do the Gedo Top. Cameo Appearance Daigo has appeared as a card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash. Trivia * Little is known about Daigo's academic performance, other than the fact that he excels in Japanese language, both in reading and writing. To this day, school subjects where he performs poorly remain undisclosed. * His given name is sometimes misspelled as Diago. * Daigo, his design and his fighting style has been compared to Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama from Namco's Tekken games. Additionally, Daigo and Akira's surname is also shared by Jin, his mother Jun and his relative Asuka. * He is the only Rival Schools character to be voiced by two different people. Kōichi Yamadera voiced him in United by Fate; and in Project Justice, the role went to Akio Ōtsuka. Gallery Image:RivalDaigo.png|''Rival Schools'' Image:RSDaigo.png|''Rival Schools'' Image:CFCDaigo.png|''SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash'' Image:DreamwaveDaigo.png|''Dreamwave Comics'' DaigoandAkira.png|Daigo with his younger sister Akira during the first ending theme of Rival Schools Image:PJA_Daigo_1.png|Daigo without his jacket in School Life Mode of Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki 2 Image:PJA_Daigo_2.png|Daigo from his ending in the School Life Mode of Nekketsu Seisyun Nikki 2 Image:Daigo_and_Akira.png|''Daigo'' with his younger sister Akira References 'Game and Character Information' Nguyen, John. Project Justice FAQ/Move List by Puar. GameFAQs.com. Published 2001. Last accessed 14 March 2010. Tsai, Peter. FAQ/Movelist for Project Justice (Moero! Justice Gakuen) for Dreamcast/Arcade. Version 1.07. GameFAQs.com. Published 17 July 2002; last updated 13 March 2003. Last accessed 14 March 2010. Cheshire, Sophie. Project Justice: FAQ/Move List by falsehead. Final version. GameFAQs.com. Published 5 November 2001; final update 7 December 2002. Last accessed 14 March 2010. Batsu, the Doctor of Punishment. Shiritsu Justice Gakuen/Rival Schools series: Character Stories FAQ. Version 1.5 (final). GameFAQs.com. Last accessed 14 March 2010. NeoChaosX. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_in_the_Rival_Schools_series List of characters in the Rival Schools series]. Wikipedia (English). Created 20 August 2007; last updated 30 March 2010. Last accessed 1 April 2010. Justice High School videogame series (ジャスティス学園). Wikipedia (Japanese). Last accessed 1 April 2010. 'Translations' Kanji translations made possible through the Kanji Romaji Hiragana Convert website. Maruyama, Chiemi. English-Kanji-Japanese/Japanese-Kanji-English Dictionary. Pasig City, Philippines: Persian Gulf Publication, 2002. ISBN 978-971-8796-37. Nakao, Seigo. Random House Japanese-English/English-Japanese Dictionary. United States: Ballantine Books, 1995. ISBN 0-345-40548-X. Category:Characters Category:Rival Schools Characters Category:Heroes Category:Anti-Heroes Category:Bosses Category:Male Characters Category:Fighting Game Characters Category:Rival Schools Bosses